Matefinder (4 page)

"Honey, that's great news about
Safe Haven. You’ve known him three months? How come you never told me?"
There was hurt in her voice. I hated this.

"I wasn't sure it was serious
but it is. Say you’re happy for me? That you will visit?"

“Of course I'll visit. You’re my
daughter. It's just... You know I didn't get to know your father very well and
I jumped in without thinking and look where that got us."

"Mom, he is not like that. He
would never hurt me." Okay, the line between making up a story and the
truth was getting blurry. I wasn't really moving in with Kai, was I?

"What does he do?"

“He... He comes from a wealthy family
and he has a community up here. A… treatment center. For.... recovering
alcoholics." What the hell was I saying? I was always a horrible liar but
I had a wild imagination, quite the combo.

"Oh, well he sounds a lot like
you. A do-gooder. Except for the wealthy family part,” she joked. I thought of
her in her bright teal trailer on Ash Lane near downtown Portland. I wish I
could give her more. She deserved the best.

"Thanks for understanding. I'll
call you tomorrow, okay, mom?"

"Okay, sweetie. The only thing I
have ever wanted was to see you happy. You sound happy," she admitted.

Did I? Was I? God, if she only knew.
Mom, I got in a horrific accident. My back was broken, my head gushing blood
and this new boyfriend of mine. The one, who I said would never hurt me? He bit
me. ‘Cause he's a werewolf and now I am one, too. I wanted to tell her.

“Thanks, mom. Love you.”

 “Love you too, Aurora.”

                So that was it. I was a werewolf and I was
moving in with my Alpha that I had kissed twice, and I was lying to my mom. I
sighed. Life was officially complicated.

                After getting off of the phone with my mom, I
sat on the edge of the bed in silence for a moment until my pack sense began to
tingle. ‘
Alpha. Alpha. Alpha.’
I got up and made my way outside where I
could see the pack gathering around Kai.

“Glad to see you fully healed,” Sadie
purred at Kai. He nodded and then turned as if sensing me. Again his eyes
trailed over my body and I felt exposed.

“I think it’s time we go for a run!
To welcome Aurora properly; introduce all of us to her wolf. We leave in five
minutes.” He eyed me and beckoned me towards the house.

                I followed him wordlessly, trying to contain
my fear. I was a werewolf and up until now it hadn’t been real. Shifting into a
wolf, that was real. Would it hurt? Would I hate it? What if I liked it? Once
inside, he turned to face me tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.

“Wolves need to live in packs to be
fully healthy and feel whole, but as far as lovers go, most of us can only hope
to be lucky enough to find our mate; to be blessed with children and a life of
love. We prepare for a life of fleeting relationships. We have distractions but
the one thing we are really waiting for is our mate.”

My heart was beating in my head. I
wasn’t expecting this. He continued. “As you can imagine, with a shortage of
female wolves, most males spend their life alone, romantically. Your arrival
has every unmated male in the pack in a frenzy. I feel it fair to warn you that
no matter what has started between you and I, if your mate is out there among the
pack…” He didn’t finish.

“And how will I recognize my mate?” I
asked him, pressing my body against his and staring into his eyes, watching
them go yellow. His hands found their way to my hips.

“Have you seen my wolf? It’s
markings?” I nodded and lowered my eyes to his lips. I didn’t want to be
someone else’s mate. I wanted to choose for myself. “Well, my mate’s marking
will be the exact opposite of mine. Instead of a black coat with a white star,
she will have a white coat with a black star. Mates were made for each other, a
union blessed by Spirit. When mates meet for the first time in wolf form, it’s
said to be indescribable. Your mate might not even be on this continent, but I
wanted to warn you in case he is.”

                “Let’s get this over with then.” I pulled out
of his grasp, afraid of getting too close. One thing was certain. I wouldn’t be
anyone’s mate unless I wanted to be. I don’t care what
Spirit
thought. I
could feel his eyes burning into the back of my head.

                The entire pack was assembled. I noticed some
of the men staring at me with longing.

                “The first shift is painful and it takes a
while. Since you’re a
changed
wolf you will have a gift. We may not know
what it is right away, just be patient,” Kai told me.

                “How do I shift?” I felt stupid for asking.

                I heard Akash chuckle behind me. "You
let your wolf out. No pun intended. Let her bubble to the surface. Then push
with everything you are and it just happens. I threw up my first shift, so
don’t feel bad if you do."

                I laughed. “Okay, just don’t get too close to
me. I might throw up on you.”

                He smiled and then ran to be with his
friends. The pack began undressing around me, including Kai, but I noticed
everyone kept their eyes on the ground. Here goes nothing, I thought, and began
peeling off my clothes. When I was about to unclip my bra, I looked up. Kai was
staring into my eyes. I blushed. He shifted in seconds while the rest of the
pack slowly started. I heard cracking bones all around me and took a deep
breath calling to my inner wolf. ‘
Pack. Run.’

                Once I felt her at the surface, I pushed. It
was like screaming with no sound. I felt the blood rush to my face. My blood
felt like it was carbonated, and my skin felt like Jell-O. One second I was
standing on two legs,  then I felt like someone had taken a knife and filleted
me in half, and then I was standing on four paws. The other wolves hadn't
finished shifting but all eyes were on me. They went from me, to Kai, and back
to me. I thought they must be staring at us because we had the same gift; the
gift of shifting instantly, being super-fast… but then I heard it. ‘
Mate
.’

I looked up at Kai in his wolf form.
A thousand images passed between us. Him as a little boy in India hanging
clothes on a clothes line with his mother. Me as a little girl being rocked
back and forth to sleep by my mother. Him as a young man being attacked by a
wolf pack, being
changed
. Me around 12 years old covering my ears as my
father screamed at my mother. Him as a young wolf fighting for dominance. I
felt every bite. I felt his pain. Me as a teenager standing over my father in
the kitchen; a knife dripping blood in my hand. My father’s dead body on the
tile next to my unconscious mother. Kai happy as an Alpha of his first pack. Me
happy when my mom and I moved into our first place. It was like a life review
of what each other had missed up until now.

He jumped on my wolf, rolling me down
the grassy hill nipping at my neck playfully. I breathed him in. Cedar, mint,
and home. ‘
Mate,’
I heard my wolf say. ‘
You're mine
,’ Kai said.
My inner wolf howled.

                ‘I wanted it to be true from the first time I
saw you. Your markings are beautiful, white with a black star and black socks
,’ he told me.

                Kai was my mate. I could feel it now, the
rightness of it. My wolf was pleased and my human side didn’t have time to
process it. I heard a painful howl behind me and turned to see a wolf with
glaring black eyes. Sadie. My wolf recognized her. She ran off through the
woods without waiting for the pack. I felt sorry for her. Kai nipped my leg and
I jumped over him and began to run. ‘
Chase,’
my wolf said. Kai took off
after me, grinning. The rest of the pack was at our heels. I could feel them. ‘
Pack.
Run.’
I pushed myself faster, harder. Kai was right next to me.

                ‘You’re fast like me,’
he said. I pushed faster delighting
in the feeling of my body, then I circled around to meet up with the pack.

                A small, reddish wolf with two white spots on
her back pounced on me playfully, yipping. Emma. My wolf nuzzled her and then I
noticed Devon circling Kai. They seemed to be talking. Devon’s markings were
the exact opposite of Emma’s. He was stark white with two reddish spots on his
back.

                ‘You found your mate!’
Emma’s voice said. I froze startled. ‘
The
pack can communicate through the pack bond while in wolf form.’

‘Oh, cool.’
I tried.

                A medium-sized tawny wolf with a white
paintbrush tail and a thin, white line along his back, came up to me. Akash, my
pack sense told me. He nipped my left paw and then took off running. My wolf
yipped and ran after him. ‘
Chase.’

                One second I was chasing him and the next I
was slammed with a vision. Like a movie screen playing in my head. I could feel
my legs running, but I couldn’t see Akash or the forest in front of me. I saw
Sadie in human form, in a grove; the downtown Seattle space needle peeked out
of the skyline behind her. She then changed into her wolf. She was a large,
female wolf with brown and reddish markings. A wolf pack came out of the
clearing and a wolf with the opposite markings to Sadie howled and sprinted
towards her. They nipped each other running in circles. Then I was shown Sadie
looking at Kai. He nodded. She was saying goodbye.

                Then the vision was gone.  Akash and Kai were
in front of me whining in anxiety. ‘
I said are you okay? Can you hear me,
Aurora
?’ Kai asked
.

                ‘Maybe she’s having a seizure. I read about
staring seizures once,’
Akash added.

                I shook my head to clear it. ‘
Not a
seizure, a vision.’  
I walked over to Kai to reassure his wolf I was okay.
I licked his muzzle and then replayed my vision for him in my thoughts. His
wolf’s eyes glowed and his muzzle opened. He was panting.

                ‘I know what you are. There are stories about
your kind,’
he said.

                ‘My kind
,’ I thought.

                ‘You’re a Matefinder. The most sought after,
the most…hunted
.’ At
this, his wolf tipped his head back and howled. My fur rose up and my ears were
stiff.

                The other wolves ran to him to see what was
wrong. ‘
Alpha, Alpha
.’ I could hear their concern. Jake brushed my
shoulder as he passed me and it happened again! I no longer saw the pack in
front of me. I was pulled into a vision. I saw Jake, then I was shown a
hospital sign. ‘
Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, Scottsdale, AZ.’
Then the
room #314 flashed in my mind. It was like I was walking into the room, lying upon
the bed was a frail, skinny female. She was sleeping.

                A nurse walked in with a doctor and they
whispered. “Her white blood cell count is not good. She will be dead in two
days. Call the family,” he told the nurse. The nurse frowned. “She doesn’t have
family. I’ll call a priest.” She was Jake’s mate. I didn’t know how I knew it;
it was just there in my mind, a knowing. Then I flashed to months later. There
was snow on the ground. Jake and the girl from the hospital were having a
mating ceremony, and Emma was sitting in the front row, her belly swollen with
pregnancy.

              The pack came into focus in front of me, Kai
was in human form now, shaking me.  I tried to send him the images of my vision
but then I hit a black wall. I blacked out.

              I became aware of breathing on my face. I cracked
open my eyes to see a human Kai inches from my face, his eyes glowing yellow.

                "Jesus!" I shrieked. "You
scared me." My throat felt dry. I felt weak. Kai didn’t move but he sighed
in relief, breathing on me. "You scared me, too. I couldn't get brother
wolf to calm down." He backed up and I could see his eyes fading back to
brown.

                "I'm fine. I just… when did I change
back to human?" I looked down at my body. Someone had clothed me. I
blushed.

                "A little while ago. You passed out. After
you… discovered your gift."

                I sighed. My gift. "Did you tell them?
The pack.”

                "They picked up on your thoughts. When
we are in wolf form we can communicate with the pack. It makes us better
hunters. Instead of communicating with just me, you sent it to the whole pack. I
have to teach you to close your mind. Sadie and Jake are waiting outside the
room. They’re grinning ear to ear. If it’s true, Aurora, if you can find mates…"
He cleared his throat, eyes gleaming yellow again.  “…well that makes you very
valuable to other wolves, to all wolves. You could be in danger."

                I placed my hand on his. The touch seemed to
reassure him and to be honest, my body ached to touch him.

                He went on. “Our race has been slowly dying
out. Not many can survive the
change
and children can only be born to
mates. Finding our mates has become harder and harder. Take you and me, for
example. If I hadn't saved you from that accident, you would have died a human
and I never would have known. I would have lived out my life alone, with no
family." His voice became a whisper just them. He lowered his head, and
for one brief second he looked like a small child.  I sat up slowly and wrapped
my legs around him.

                "About this mate thing," I began.
His face went slack; the Mount Hood Alpha looked nervous. He placed his
hands possessively around my waist keeping me close to him. I instinctively
placed my hands around his large, tan biceps.

                "When we're in wolf form, I feel like
your mate. But as humans, I need us to start slow," I told him.

                "Slow?”

                Clearly he didn't understand the concept. I
brushed my fingers through his thick hair, unable to keep myself from touching
him.

                "Slow. Like when we're human. You’re my
boyfriend. I'm not ready to jump into some mating ceremony and have kids next
month. Okay?"

His laugh was deep and distinctive;
it made me want to hear it over and over again. "Boyfriend. Okay. I can do
that." He kissed me chastely. "…for now." His eyes scanned my
body and my skin heated at his meaning. I let go of my hold on him and
detangled my legs, clearing my throat. He grinned, flashing his bright white
canines.

                “I’m the luckiest man alive,” he said,
kissing my forehead and standing up. I sat there frozen, not prepared for the comment
he had just made. He held out his hand, pulling me into a standing position.
“You’re not used to being treated right, are you?” he asked, looking deep into
my eyes. My breath began to come out in ragged gasps. This was intense. Yet,
something inside me assured me he could be trusted with anything. He was my
mate. Mine. Made for me.